Home

"Wherever you are.... Debbie takes you home."

I read that on a real estate website this week

and it got me thinking.

Home.

That has been such a fluid word for

me and my family

over the past 18 years.

My story began on a tree shaded road

in Crownsville, MD,

where the Severn river was just a bike ride away,

where my friends and I built

countless tree forts in the woods behind our houses,

and where we sat on the fireplace hearth that

my grandfather built.

So many chapters have been written

in about a dozen dwelling places

since then.

My very favorite chapter so far

has been this old ridiculously old, high maintenance home

in Rhode Island.

It had so much character

and history.

It was built in 1897 on the site of

Rhode Island's only Revolutionary War battleground.

The squeaky, drafty old house

intrigued me and I wish we had had

more time there to really settle in to

her bones and get to know her better.

One short year was not enough,

especially since I spent the last four months

of that year,

recovering from a serious ankle injury.

Learning to navigate the steep, narrow

staircases while my non-weight bearing orders were in effect,

was very challenging.

We had the most fun out on the deck and in

the yard of this house.

Her spooky basement was a source of giggles

and screams for all of us,

and her fully finished attic held

many nights of family pool shooting

and drum practice for Michael.
With almost 6,000 square feet and lots of unique nooks and crannies,

this was the BEST house ever to play

hide and go seek in.

And now our current house

holds our laughter and tears,

and echoes noises of a growing family

inside it's walls.

Although not as alive as our Rhode Island house,

this house has the best view we've ever enjoyed.

Having lived in so many places

over the last 18 years,

when someone asks me where I'm from,

I am hard pressed to give them an answer.

Sometimes I say Maryland,

because that's where it all began.

Sometimes I say Florida,

because that's where it all unraveled.

Sometimes I say Georgia,

because that is where it all grew.

And sometimes I am short sighted enough

to say Rhode Island,

because that's where we just came from.

More often than not

I simply answer,

"We are from America...we are a Navy family."

So Debbie....where ya taking me?

I hope it's good!